Ulster Volunteer Force

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group that was formed in May 1966 by Protestant Ulster Scots with the goal of protecting the rights of Protestants in Northern Ireland. Headquartered in the city of Belfast, the UVF waged a terrorist campaign against Irish Catholics and republicans (people in favor of a united Ireland) from 1966 to 1994, siding with the United Kingdom against the republican rebels. In October 1994, the group agreed to a ceasefire, and in May 2007 it officially ended its armed campaign as the unionists and republicans agreed to a power-sharing deal.